Rarely does the world see as versatile a figure as Herbert Simon. A Nobel laureate in economics, he was an accomplished political scientist, winner of a lifetime achievement award from the American Psychological Association, and founder of the Department of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. In all his work in all these fields, he pursued a single goal: to create a science that could map the bounds of human reason and so enlarge its role in human affairs. Hunter Crowther-Heyck uses the career of this unique individual to examine the evolution of the social sciences after World War II, particularly Simon's creation of a new field, systems science, which joined together two distinct, powerful approaches to human behavior, the sciences of choice and control. Simon sought to develop methods by which human behavior, specifically human problem-solving, could be modeled and simulated. Regarding mind and machine as synonymous, Simon applied his models of human behavior to many other areas, from public administration and business management to artificial intelligence and the design of complex social and technical systems. In this informed and discerning study, Crowther-Heyck explores Simon's contributions to science and their influences on modern life and thought. For historians of science, social science, and technology, and for scholars of twentieth-century American intellectual and cultural history, this account of Herbert Simon's life and work provides a rich and valuable perspective.

About the Author
Hunter Crowther-Heyck is an assistant professor of history of science at the University of Oklahoma and former exhibits curator at the National Library of Medicine.

Reviews
This biography is a fitting tribute to those accomplishments and the person who achieved them. -- David J. Pittenger PsycCRITIQUES 2005 One of the most important secondary works on postwar social science in America. -- Mark C. Smith American Historical Review 2006 Impressive study. -- Jon Agar Isis 2006 This book will be an essential starting point for the consideration of Simon's career in context. Journal of American History 2006 A welcome historiographical current is now bringing to light long-neglected links among the histories of technology, science, and economics. -- William Thomas Technology and Culture 2006



Book Information
ISBN 9780801880254
Author Hunter Crowther-Heyck
Format Hardback
Page Count 432
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 703g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 35mm